Grass Valley man stabbed in marijuana robbery

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A Grass Valley man was recovering Friday, three days after he was stabbed and beaten during a marijuana robbery in the Yuba County foothills.

Brandon Mast was watching over a marijuana garden around 3 a.m. Wednesday in the 1600 block of Vierra Road in Rackerby when he was attacked by four men, Sheriff Steve Durfor said in a statement.

Mast, 32, was stabbed repeatedly in the upper torso and arms, and suffered multiple facial fractures, as well, according to the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department. Thieves took several plants and some unidentified property belonging to Mast.

It was not clear if the plants were part of a medical marijuana grow.

Mast was able to call a relative who transported him to the hospital in Oroville. He was later transferred to Enloe Medical Center in Chico where he was treated and released, authorities said.

Marijuana robberies are on the rise in Northern California in recent months, but authorities have said that is typical this time of year during the height of the marijuana harvest season.

On Sept. 21, a man was bound and threatened with a gun and a knife at a home in Linda. Thieves escaped with about 30 plants during the incident. The victim was not seriously hurt.

Deputies said the four people in the robbery left the scene in a 2000s model white Ford diesel pickup truck with four doors.

Three people were said to be white males while the fourth was described as “possibly Hispanic or American Indian,” the Sheriff’s Department said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Yuba County Sheriff’s Department at (530) 749-7777.